Carton equipped with liquid pouring-out device

ABSTRACT

A carton container to be filled with liquids such as beverages, comprises a wall structure of liquid impermeable property, a liquid pouring-out device fixed to a mounting aperture of the wall structure through which device the liquid is poured out, a gas barrier layer provided in said wall structure to prevent gas within the container from passing through the wall structure to the outside, and a gas barrier film provided across the liquid pouring-out device to prevent gas within the container from escaping through the pouring-out device, the gas barrier layer and the gas barrier film being overlapped or continuous when seen in outside-to-inside direction with respect to said wall structure, whereby gas within the container does not escape to the outside even after elapse of a prolonged period of time.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 07/247,371, filed Sept. 21,1988.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to packages or carton containers to be filledwith liquids such as beverages and, more particularly, to a carton witha liquid pouring-out device, having gas barrier means for preventing gascontained therein to escape therefrom.

A package or container carton, simply called "carton" herein, to befilled with liquids such as beverages, is usually formed into asubstantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having a rectangular orsquare top wall to which a mounting aperture is formed, and an easilyopenable liquid pouring-out device is fixed to the top wall at theposition of the mounting aperture. All of the walls including the top,side, and bottom walls of such a carton are generally provided with abarrier layer made of a thin aluminum film, for example, in a laminatedstate for imparting a gas barrier property to the carton walls. Theliquid pouring-out or dispensing device secured to the top wall of thecarton may be also provided with a gas barrier layer for the samepurpose. One example of a conventional carton of the character describedabove is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication(Kokai) No. 163,251/1985.

However, with the liquid containing carton of the conventional type, athin layer having a property of gas barrier is not provided in the topwall of a the carton around the mounting aperture as will be describedlater in detail, and accordingly, there exists an area of the top wallhaving no barrier layer between the edge of the barrier layer applied tothe top wall of the carton and the edge of the barrier layer of theliquid pouring-out device applied to the mounting aperture. There is afear, accordingly, of gas, such as carbon dioxide in a carbonated drinkcontained in the carton, escaping outwardly, over a prolonged period oftime, through the area of the top wall to which the gas barrier layer isnot provided, with consequent difficulty in preventing the deteriorationof the quality of the liquid such as the beverage filled in the carton.

Furthermore, the liquid pouring-out devices of the conventional typeshave the problems or defects of being difficult to open or use forpouring the liquid contained in the carton.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of this invention is to substantially eliminate theproblem encountered in the conventional technique and to provide apackage or a container carton to be filled with liquid, equipped with aliquid pouring-out device and having a property of a gas barrier.

Another object of this invention is to provide a carton to be filledwith liquid, equipped with an improved liquid pouring-out device whichcan be easily handled and opened for the hygienic pouring out of theliquid.

These and other objects can be achieved according to this invention byproviding a carton to be filled with liquid, comprising a cartoncontainer having a wall in which mounting aperture means is provided,the carton container having a gas barrier layer, and a liquidpouring-out device fixed to the wall at a position of the mountingaperture, the pouring-out device having breakable means which is brokenwhen the liquid is poured out, the pouring-out device having a gasbarrier layer to prevent leakage of gas through the device, the gasbarrier layers of the carton container and the pouring-out device beinguninterruptedly continuous when seen from an outside-to-inside directionwith respect to the wall.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, a thin gas barrier film isprovided in the wall of the carton container in a laminated condition.The thin barrier film has an edge portion extending substantially to anedge of the wall defining the mounting aperture means. The liquidpouring-out device is provided with a flange which is firmly bonded tothe inner surface of the wall around the periphery of the mountingaperture means, and the flange has a laminated structure including athin gas barrier film layer having its portion overlapped, when seenfrom the outside to inside with respect to the wall, with the thinbarrier film of the wall around the aperture means when the liquidpouring-out device is fitted to the wall.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the gas barrier layerof the carton container extends continuously to the area of the mountingaperture means, thereby to constitute the gas barrier layer of theliquid pouring out device, as well. In this embodiment, the two gasbarrier layers are integrally continuous and the liquid pouring-outdevice is bonded to the outer surface of the wall of the cartoncontainer.

Preferred embodiments according to this invention will be describedfurther in detail hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational section of a carton equipped with a liquidpouring-out device according to a first embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that shown in FIG. 1, in which the liquidpouring-out device is closed with a cap;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the liquid pouring-out device;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational section, on an enlarged scale, of apart designated at IV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view, similar to FIG. 1, but showing a modified form;

FIG. 6 is a view, partially in elevational section, of a liquidpouring-out device according to a second embodiment of this invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are elevational sections of a cap and a main body of theliquid pouring-out device fitted to a carton, respectively;

FIG. 8 is also an elevational section similar to that shown in FIG. 7B,but explanatory of the pulling up of a pull ring;

FIG. 9 is a front view, partially an elevational section, of a liquidpouring-out device fitted to a carton according to a third embodiment ofthis invention;

FIG. 10 is a front view similar to that shown in FIG. 9, showing a statewhere a cap is rotated for removal;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are front views, partially in elevational sections, ofthe cap and the main body of the liquid pouring-out device,respectively;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are respectively front and plan views of the main bodyof the liquid pouring-out device shown in FIG. 11B;

FIGS. 13A, 13B and 13C are front, top plan and bottom plan views,respectively, of a piercing member;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are perspective views of a liquid pouring-out device, asseen in different directions, to be fitted to a carton according to afourth embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the carton to which the liquidpouring-out device shown in FIG. 14 is applied;

FIG. 17 is an elevational section of the liquid pouring-out device shownin FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIII--XVIII shown inFIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a wallstructure constituting the carton shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 20 is a view explanatory of the assembling of the liquidpouring-out device shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 21 is a fragmentary perspective view of the carton shown in FIG. 16before assembling the liquid pouring-out device shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view explanatory of a first stage of opening ofthe device by means of the liquid pouring-out device shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the liquid pouring-out device in thestate shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the liquid pouring-out device in asecond stage of opening the device;

FIG. 25 is a view explanatory of the liquid pouring-out device in anopened state thereof;

FIG. 26 is a sectional view of another example of the liquid pouring-outdevice similar to that shown in FIG. 17;

FIGS. 27 and 28 are perspective illustrations of cartons of conventionaltypes to which this invention is applicable and

FIG. 29 is a front view, partially in section, of a conventional liquidpouring-out device applied to a carton.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the description of preferred embodiments of this invention,background art will be briefly described for better understanding ofthis invention with reference to FIGS. 27 to 29.

FIG. 27 shows a perspective view of a rectangular package or containercarton 400 to be filled with a liquid such as a beverage having a flattop wall 401 to which a liquid pouring-out or dispensing device 402 isattached. FIG. 28 shows also a perspective view of another package orcontainer carton 500 having a gable top wall 501 to which a liquidpouring-out or dispensing device 502 is attached. The liquid pouring-outdevices 402 and 502 may be of various types such as a screw cap type,pressure-applying cap type and so on.

FIG. 29 shows a portion of the top wall of the carton, of a type asdesignated by reference numeral 400 in FIG. 27, including the liquidpouring-out device 402. The wall portion, for example, top wall 401 inthe illustration, is fabricated by a laminated sheet material into whicha thin film 404 made of aluminum, for example, is interposed forimparting a property, such as a barrier, for example, against a gassealed in the carton 400, the thin film of this character being called abarrier layer hereinafter. A barrier layer 405 of the same character isalso provided at a base portion of the liquid pouring-out device 402.

As shown in FIG. 29, edge portions of these barrier layers 404 and 405are conventionally spaced apart or separated from each other and,accordingly, the wall 401 of the carton 400 has an area in which thebarrier layer is not provided, the area surrounding the base portion ofthe liquid pouring-out device 402 as viewed in top plan view thereof.With such a construction, a gas sealed in the carton 400 may undesirablypass straight outward as indicated by arrows 406 through that areahaving no barrier layer, so that it is difficult to maintain the carton400 completely gas tight and to prevent degradation of the quality ofthe liquid contained.

This invention is made primarily to eliminate the defects or drawbacksencountered in the conventional liquid carton described above, by theuse of an improved liquid pouring-out device. A preferred embodimentaccording to this invention will first be described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 4.

Referring to FIG. 2, a top wall 10 of a carton container or carton 1,which is per se of the type shown in FIG. 26 or 27, is provided with amounting aperture 11. The wall of the carton 1 is entirely a laminatedstructure having a liquid-impermeable property and consisting of layersof polyethylene, paper, polyethylene, aluminum,polyethylene-terephthalate, and polyethylene in this order from theouter surface towards the inner surface of the wall, and in FIG. 2, onlythe aluminum layer 12 constituting a barrier layer is shown for the sakeof convenience.

A cylindrical liquid pouring-out device 13 is fitted into the aperture11, and as shown in FIG. 1, the liquid pouring-out device 13 comprise acylindrical main body 13a as a spout and a cap 13b to be applied to thespout 13a a in screw engagement with circumferential screw threads 14formed on the outer surface of the spout 13a. A partition wall 15 isformed integrally with the bottom portion of the spout 13a and a scoreline or cut 16 is formed in the back surface of the partition wall 15 soas to have an annular shape, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 forfacilitating opening of the device 13. An upright bar 17 is formedintegrally with the wall 15 so as to project away therefrom at aposition within the area defined by the score line 16, and a pull ring18 is integrally attached to the top end of the bar 17. A mountingflange 20 is also formed integrally with the bottom of the main body 13.The flange 20 may be formed in an annular shape in plan view, inconformity with the shape of the bottom portion of the liquidpouring-out device. The portions or elements of the pouring-out device13 may be integrally made entirely of a synthetic resin such aspolyethylene resin.

In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a recess is formed inthe back surface of the mounting flange 20 into which a thin film 21,having a property of a gas barrier, is securely fitted. The film 21includes a barrier layer 22 as an innermost layer as shown in detail inFIG. 4. The film 21 may be of a laminated structure comprisingpolyethylene, aluminum and polyethylene layers, the aluminum layer 22constituting the barrier layer. The thin barrier film 21 may be joinedto the partition wall 15 by, for example, insert molding. The barrierlayer 22 has its peripheral edge concealed by the material of the film21 to prevent corrosion of the barrier layer by acids.

The base portion of the cylindrical spout 13a of the liquid pouring-outdevice 13 is fitted into the aperture 11 formed in the top wall 10 ofthe carton 1, and the upper (as viewed) surface of the flange 20 of thespout 13a is bonded to the inner or back surface of the top wall 10along a bonding surface portion 24 as shown in FIG. 4 by means of anultrasonic horn 26, for example, as shown in FIG. 2. In such bondingoperation, the ultrasonic oscillations will be well transmitted even tothe outer peripheral edge of the mounting flange 20 by disposing thehorn 26 in a manner such that the radially outer peripheral edge of thehorn 26 is positioned radially outwardly from the outer periphery of theflange 20 by a distance S as shown in FIG. 2.

According to the carton 1, provided with the liquid pouring-out device13 having the structure according to this embodiment, the flange 20 isprovided with the thin film 21 functioning as a barrier such that theradially outer edge of the thin film 21 is positioned radially outwardlyof the inner edge of the barrier layer 12 of the top wall 10 of thecarton 1 as best illustrated in FIG. 4. In other words, the barrierlayers 21 and 12 are overlapped by a distance L as shown. Therefore,before opening the liquid pouring-out device 13, gas or the like in thecarton 1 is essentially not allowed to pass straight to the outsidebecause the gas must make a detour along the bonding surface portion 24,which however does not readily allow passage of the gas.

When it is required to pour out or dispense the liquid content such as abeverage from the carton, the cap 13b is first removed to expose theinterior of the main body 13a and the pull ring 18 is pulled away fromthe body by a finger, until the partition wall 15 is broken along thescore line 16 together with the barrier film 21, whereby the liquidcontent in the carton can be poured out. The cap 13b will then bereapplied after the pouring-out of the liquid.

In a modification, the cap 13b may be integrally formed with thindepending strips 13c projecting beyond the lower peripheral edge of thecap and equally spaced apart circumferentially of the cap, as indicatedby phantom lines in FIGS. 1 and 4. The strips can be molded integrallywith the main body of the cap. When the cap 13b is applied to the mainbody 13a, the depending or projecting portions of the strips 13c arebent and rest on the surface of the flange 20 as shown at 13c'.Thereafter, the upper surface of the flange 20 is bonded to the innersurface of the top wall 10 whereby the portions 13c' are also bonded tothe top wall 10. This construction is advantageous because when the cap13b is turned to open the pouring-out device the strips 13c will bebroken, whereby it can be confirmed that the pouring-out device was onceopened.

The aforementioned liquid pouring-out device 13 of the carton 1 of thefirst embodiment is provided with the cap 13b of screw type. However, apressure-applying type cap may be used for the carton of the type shownin FIGS. 1 to 4 instead of the screw type cap for substantiallyeliminating inconvenience of the cap screwing operation.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the pouring-out device shown in FIG. 1.In the modification of FIG. 5, the score line or cut 16a is formed inthe surface of the partition wall 15, opposite to the barrier film 21.

A carton provided with a liquid pouring-out or dispensing device havingsuch pressure-applying type cap will be described below with referenceto FIGS. 6 to 8.

A liquid pouring-out device 100 of this embodiment comprises acylindrical main body 100a as a spout and a cap 100b which havestructures similar to those of the aforementioned embodiment except thatthe cap 100b is of the pressure-applying type. The spout 100a and thecap 100b are made of synthetic resins and molded by an injection moldingmethod, and desirably, the cap 100b is made of a synthetic resinslightly harder than that of the spout 100a.

The spout 100a of the liquid pouring-out device comprises, as bestillustrated in FIG. 7B, a spout 102, a bottom wall 103 as a partitionwall to be broken when the liquid is to be poured out, an upright member107 secured to the bottom wall 103 and a pull tab 104 secured to the topof the member 107, these elements or portions being formed integrally.The bottom wall 103 is provided with a score line or cut 105 along whichthe bottom 103 can be broken when the pull tab 104 is pulled. In thisembodiment, the cut 105 is formed on the back surface of the bottom wall103. An annular bead 109 is formed around the outer periphery of thespout 102.

The cap 100b comprises, as shown in FIG. 7A, a cap body 106 and anannular bead 108 formed on its inner periphery at a lower portionthereof. The bead 108 is engaged with the bead 109 of the spout 102 whenthe cap 106 is forcibly applied to the spout 100a as shown in FIG. 6.

The container or carton 1 to which the liquid pouring-out device 100having the construction described above is applied has a laminated wallstructure, having a liquid-impermeable property substantially the sameas that of the carton 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. That is, concerning awall 10 of the carton 1, a barrier layer 12 made of an aluminum film,for example, is interposed so as to maintain the property as a barrieragainst gas contained in the carton 1.

The spout 100a of the liquid pouring-out device 100 is also providedwith a flange 110 which is bonded to be fluid-tight to the back surfaceof the wall 10 of the carton 1 when the pouring-out device is applied tothe carton 1. The flange 110 has a structure substantially the same asthat of the first embodiment. That is, a laminated film 21 is applied tothe back surfaces of the bottom wall 103 and the flange 110, the film 21including a thin barrier layer 22 of the character described withreference to FIG. 4. Also in this embodiment, the barrier layers 12 and22 have edge portions overlapped by a distance L around the liquidpouring device 100. Accordingly, the function of preventing passage ofgas can be ensured also in this embodiment.

When it is required to pour out or dispense the liquid content in thecarton 1, the cap 100b is first pulled and removed from the spout 100aof the liquid pouring-out device. The pull tab 104 is then pulled asshown in FIG. 8 and the bottom 103 is broken. At this time, the barrierfilm 21 is also broken, and by further pulling the pull tab 104, thepull tab 104, the member 107 and a part of the bottom wall 103 are allremoved together, whereby an opening is provided.

FIGS. 9 to 13 represent a third embodiment according to this invention.As shown in FIG. 9, a liquid pouring-out or dispensing device 200, shownas applied to a carton 1, generally comprises a cylindrical main body200a, a cap 200b and a cylindrical piercing member 201. The main body200a has an annular flange 210 which is bonded to the rear surface ofthe wall 10 of the carton. The body 200a, the cap 200b and the piercingmember 201 are made of synthetic resin and formed by injection molding.A thin film 21 having a barrier layer 22 is attached to the back surfaceof the flange 210. The film 21 may be formed as a laminated structurehaving polyethylene-aluminum film-polyethylene layers, as in the firstembodiment. As shown in FIG. 12A, the main body or spout 200a of thepouring-out device has screw threads 217 on the outer surface thereof.The screw threads 217 are adapted to be engaged with screw threads ofthe cap 200b, as will be described later.

The carton 1 to be filled with a liquid such as a beverage has a wallstructure, of a liquid impermeable property, substantially the same asthose described before, and the wall 10 includes an interposed barrierlayer 12. When the liquid pouring-out device 200 is applied to thecarton 1 and the flange 210 is bonded to the inner surface of the wall10, the barrier layers 12 and 22 are overlapped by a distance L aroundthe aperture of the carton, as indicated in FIG. 9. Accordingly, theproperty, as a barrier, of the carton 1 against gas filled therein canbe improved and the quality of the liquid contained can be maintained.

Referring back to the structures of the cap 200b and the main body 200aof the liquid pouring-out device 200, the cylindrical main body 200a isfurther provided on the inner surface thereof with an annular innerflange 218, as shown in FIG. 12A, to be engaged with the piercing member201 in a manner to be described later, longitudinal ribs 219 indiametrically opposing arrangement, and an annular rib 220 disposed atan intermediate portion but slightly nearer to the lower end of theinner surface of the main body 200a.

As most clearly shown in FIG. 11A, the cap 200b is provided on the innersurface with screw threads 221 to be engaged with the screw threads 217of the main body 200a and with a radially inner cylindrical portion 224extending downwardly from the inner surface of the cap top 222. Thecylindrical portion 224 is provided with external screw threads 223,which have the same screw direction as that of the threads 217 but havea pitch larger than that of the threads 217.

The cylindrical piercing member 201, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, isprovided on the inner surface with screw threads 225 to be engaged withthe screw threads 223 of the cap 200b when the cap is applied to themain body 200a of the liquid pouring-out device 200 and with a forward,i.e. lower as viewed, end 226 formed as a saw-teeth-like sharp piercingend inclined slightly radially inwardly. The positions of the tips ofthe sharp piercing end 226 is shown in FIG. 13c. The cylindricalpiercing member 201 is also provided around the outer surface of theupper end with a wide ring 227 to which are formed diametrically opposedlongitudinal grooves 228 to be engaged with the longitudinal ribs 219provided on the inner surface of the main body 200a. Through openings229 are formed below the ring 227. The engagement of the longitudinalribs 219 and the longitudinal grooves 228 is made at diametricallyopposite positions, so that the piercing member 201 can belongitudinally moved smoothly.

The saw-teeth-shaped piercing end 226 has highest teeth at diametricallyopposite positions and lowest teeth or portions at positions on adiametrical line, perpendicular to the line connecting the highestteeth.

The operative relation of the cap 200b, the piercing member 201 and themain body 200a will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

In the state of assembly wherein the cap 200b is applied to the mainbody 200a in screw engagement, the screw threads 225 and thelongitudinal grooves 228 of the piercing member 201 are engaged with thescrew threads 223 of the cap 200b and the longitudinal ribs 219 of themain body 200a, respectively. The piercing member 201 is in apositiondisplaced upwardly as viewed in FIG. 9 until the upper endthereof abuts against the inner surface of the cap top 222. In thiscondition, the forward end 226 of the piercing member 201 is at aposition slightly retracted from the innermost, i.e. lower, end of thecylindrical portion 224 of the cap 200b. The barrier film 21 is bondedbeforehand to the back surface of the flange 210, as shown.

The thus constructed liquid pouring-out device 200 is secured to theaperture of the carton 1 from the inside thereof in such a manner thatthe inner peripheral edge of the wall 10 of the carton 1 is temporarilyclipped by projections 230 of the cap 200b and the flange 210. Theclipped portion of the wall 10 and the flange 210 are thereafter fusedby means of an ultrasonic fusing device, for example.

The liquid content filled in the carton 1 is poured out or dispensed bythe manner described below.

The cap 200b is first screwed in a direction away from the main body200a to remove the cap. As a result, the piercing member 201 isdisplaced toward the interior of the carton as shown in FIG. 10. In thisscrewing operation, since the pitch of the mutually engaged screwthreads 223 and 225 is made larger than that of the mutually engagedscrew threads 221 and 217, the amount of displacement of the piercingmember 201 towards the carton is larger than the amount of displacementof the cap 200b away from the main body 200a, so that the forward sharpend 226 of the piercing member 201 is projected beyond the back surfaceof the flange 210 and breaks barrier film 21 before the cap 200b isremoved from the main body. In this state, the lower stepped portion227a (FIG. 13A) of the ring 227, secured to the upper part of thepiercing member 201, is engaged with the inner annular flange 218 (FIG.12A) of the main body 200a, while the upper stepped portion 227b (FIG.13A) of the ring 227 is engaged with the lower surface of the annularengaging rib 220 of the main body 200a.

As described before, the sharp forward end 226 of the piercing member201 is slightly inclined radially inwardly and is formed in a wave shapeextending from the highest teeth symmetrical with each other to thelower teeth or portions, so that the barrier film 21 is broken in anannular shape with the highest teeth acting first and the lowest teethacting last for the piercing. After the barrier film 21 is broken andthe cap 200b is removed, the carton 1 is inclined, whereby the liquidcontent is poured out through the broken aperture of the film 21, thecentral hollow portion of the piercing member 201 and the throughopenings 229 thereof in the state where the ring 227 of the piercingmember 210 is firmly engaged with the annular rib 220 and the flange 218of the main body 220a.

When the cap 220b is again applied by screwing to the main body 220aafter the pouring-out of the liquid content, the cylindrical portion 224of the cap is also screw-engaged with the piercing member 201, and whenthe cap is rotated to close the same, the piercing member 201 is drawninto the ca and settles at the position shown in FIG. 9.

The liquid pouring-out device 200 of this embodiment can be applied to acarton provided with a gable top wall as well as to a flat top wall ofthe types shown in FIGS. 27 and 26, respectively. With a carton providedwith the liquid pouring-out device, the device may be covered with asynthetic resin cover or fused with a synthetic resin film when thecarton filled with a liquid such as a beverage is delivered to themarket.

According to the third embodiment of this invention, the piercing memberis advanced or retracted automatically in association with the capremoving and applying operation, so that the operator's fingers do nottouch at all the main body or spout of the liquid pouring-out device,whereby the device can be maintained in a hygienic state. The flange ofthe spout is bonded to the inner surface of the wall of the carton, sothat the portion adjacent to the mounting aperture of the carton is keptfree from the liquid, thus being maintained in a hygienic state. Inaddition, the flange and the wall of the carton are provided with thebarrier layers which have the mutually overlapping portions, whereby theproperty of the carton for preventing passage of gas therethrough isimproved, thus maintaining the quality of the liquid content in thecarton.

In the aforementioned embodiments, the liquid pouring-out deviceincludes the main body and the cap member which protrude from the wallof the liquid carton. Such type of liquid pouring-out devices has theadvantages as stated hereinbefore but nevertheless are disadvantageousbecause of the protrusion of the main body. The cap makes it difficultto stack the cartons vertically.

FIGS. 14 to 26 show a fourth embodiment of a liquid pouring-out ordispensing device to be applied to a liquid container or carton,according to this invention, for eliminating the disadvantage of theliquid pouring-out device mentioned above.

FIG. 16 shows a container or carton 1A provided with a liquidpouring-out device 300 according to this embodiment which is shown indetail in FIGS. 14 and 15. The liquid pouring-out device 300 comprises amain body 303 in the form of a planar plate and a pull tab member 304which are formed of a synthetic resin integrally with the main body 303.The flat main body 303 is provided with a pair of parallel longitudinalscore lines or cuts 305 along which a portion 306 of the main body 303between the score lines 305 can be torn off. The score lines may beformed as cut-in lines or thinned portions provided by forming groovesin the rear surface of the main body 303. The score lines 305 may beeliminated in certain cases. The score lines 305 terminate short of anedge 303a of the body 303, and cutouts 307 are formed in the edge 303aat positions in alignment with the score lines 305.

An upright wall 308 of angular shape in plan view is formed on the outersurface of the flat main body 303 integrally therewith, adjacent to theedge opposite to the edge 303a having the cutouts 307, and the forwardend of the portion 306, remote from the edge 303a is disposed near theupright wall 308. As shown in FIG. 17, the forward end of the portion306 is integrally connected to a thick portion 310 having a thicknesslarger than that of the portion 306. The portion 310 has a front lowerbreaking edge 311 and is integrally connected at 304a to the pull tabmember 304.

The pull tab member 304, in the illustrated embodiment, has a ring shapeand positioned over the portion 306 with gap G therebetween. The pulltab member 304 has a transverse dimension larger than the width of theportion 306.

As shown in FIG. 14, the portion 310, and hence the breaking edgeportion 311 thereof, has an approximately triangular shape and theupright wall 308 is shaped in plan view to extend along the two sides ofthe triangular portion 310. The upright wall 308 is inclined so as toapproach the portion 310 as it extends upwards, as clearly shown in FIG.17.

A thinned portion 312 constituting a hinge is formed by a linear groovein the rear surface of the flat main body 303 and the portion 312extending transversely to the main body 303. It is preferred that theportion 304a of the pull tab member 304, joined to the portion 310, belocated at a position towards the portion 310 relative to the hinge 312.

The carton 1A to be filled with liquid such as a beverage is made of alaminated material having a liquid-impermeable property and consisting,as shown in FIG. 19, of a paper-made base material 302a and aliquid-impermeable barrier film 302b bonded to the base material 302a inlamination. More particularly, the liquid-impermeable film 302bincludes, for example, a polyethylene layer 302bl, an aluminum layer302b2 and a polyethylene layer 302b3 in this order from the outer sidethereof, and a polyethylene film 302c is further bonded to the outersurface of the base material 302a.

The top wall 302 of the carton 1A is provided, as shown in FIGS. 20 and21, with a mounting aperture 314 to which the liquid pouring-out device300 is applied, and the aperture 314 is closed in a sealed manner by thebarrier film 302b from the inside of the aperature. The aperture 314 iscut during a conveying process of a blank from which the carton isformed, and the barrier film is then applied to the whole surface of theblank constituting the inner surface of the carton 1A as shown in FIG.20. Alternatively, a barrier film may be provided to cover a local arecovering the mounting aperture 314 of the carton having a wall structuretreated so as to be impermeable to the liquid contained therein.

The liquid pouring-out device 300 is bonded to the outer surface of thewall 302 from the state shown in FIG. 20 to the state shown in FIG. 17by fusing means, for example. More specifically, in the area of theliquid pouring aperture 314, the rear surface of the flat main body 303and the barrier film 302b are mutually bonded, and in the area outsideof the aperture 314, the rear surface of the flat main body 303 and theouter surface of the top wall 302 of the carton 1A are mutually bondedexcept for the portion between the cutouts 307 for the reason describedhereinafter. Alternatively, only the rear surface of the flat main body303 may be bonded to the barrier film 302b in the aperture 314.

The liquid pouring-out or dispensing operation of the liquid pouring-outdevice 300, applied to the carton 1A in the manner described above, iscarried out in accordance with procedures described below.

The pull tab member 304 in the state shown in FIG. 14, 15 or 16 is firstpulled upwardly by finger operation and erected to the state shown inFIG. 23. According to this erecting operation, the portion 310 isinclined downwardly about the hinge 312 as shown in FIG. 22 and thesharp breaking edge 311 of the portion 310 breaks the barrier film 302b.Breaking of the barrier film 302b can be easily done without failurebecause of the firm bonding between the film 302b and the rear surfaceof the portion 310.

When the pull tab member 304 is then raised as shown in FIG. 24, theportion 306 between the score lines 305 is separated from the otherportions of the flat main body 303 and swung upwardly, and inassociation with the swinging motion of the portion 306, a portion ofthe barrier film 302b bonded to the rear surface of the portion 310 isalso separated from the rest of the barrier film, whereby a pouringaperture 315 of the body 303 is formed between the score lines 305. Theportion of the body 303 between the cutouts 307 is also raised togetherwith the portion 306 during the barrier film tearing operation becausethe portion between the cutouts 307 is not bonded to the wall surface302 of the carton 1A. The portion between the cutouts 307 is raised suchthat the edge thereof comes into frictional contact with the outersurface of the carton 1A and, accordingly, the torn portion 306 ismaintained in the raised inclining position without constituting anobstacle for easy pouring of the liquid filled in the carton 1A.

The location of the joining portion 304a of the pull tab member 304 at aposition toward the portion 310 relative to the hinge 312 ensures aneasy barrier film breaking operation and pulling operation of theportion 306.

The liquid contained in the carton 1A is poured out through the aperture315 and along the downwardly inclined triangular upright wall 308.

The pull tab member 304 is swung reversely to return the torn portion306 to the original position after pouring out the liquid in the carton.The portion 310 is again accommodated in a portion backward of theupright wall 308. Since the wall 308 is formed in the inclined manner,the breaking portion 310 can be prevented from rising upwardly, wherebythe re-closing state of the liquid pouring-out device is maintained.

The width of the pull tab member 304 is larger, as shown in FIG. 18,than the distance between the score lines 305 and hence the width of theportion 306 to be torn off, so that a portion including the pull tabmember 304 never falls into the carton when the liquid pouring-outdevice is again closed.

The gap G (FIG. 17) between the pull tab member 304 and the main body303 is used for the engagement of the liquid pouring-out device 300 witha guide rod at a time when the device 300 is transferred towards thecarton 1A for the bonding thereto.

The liquid pouring-out device 300 is merely bonded to the outer surfaceof the sealed carton 1A, so that an aseptic condition in the carton canbe maintained.

In the embodiment described above, the portions 306 and 310 of theliquid pouring out device 300 are bonded directly to the upper surfaceof the barrier film 302b covering the inner side of the aperture 314,but in an alternative form shown in FIG. 26, the aperture is closed by aportion 318 of the wall 302 of the carton 1A and provided with a slit317 along which the portion 318 of the wall 302 is easily removed whenthe pull tab member 304 is pulled upwardly. In this form, the portions306 and 310 are bonded to the portion 318 of the wall 302 to close theaperture 314, the portion 318 being bonded to the barrier film 302b, andaccordingly, when the pull tab member 304 is pulled upwardly, theportion 318 and the barrier film portion torn are also lifted togetherwith the portions 306 and 310 of the liquid pouring-out device.

As described before, according to the preferred embodiments of thisinvention, a carton package or container is provided with a wallstructure and a liquid pouring-out device, both functioning as a gasbarrier for maintaining the quality of liquid contained in the cartonwithout degradation. In addition, the manner of fitting the improvedliquid pouring-out device to the carton wall facilitates easy handlingof the same and makes the carton hygienic.

What is claimed is:
 1. A carton to be filled with a liquid, comprising:aliquid impermeable carton container including a wall structure having amounting aperture provided therein and a gas barrier film disposed on aninner surface of said wall structure and across said mounting aperture;a liquid pouring-out device fixed to said wall structure and disposedacross said mounting aperture, said pouring-out device having a gasbarrier layer and being bonded to said barrier film across said mountingaperture such that said barrier film of said wall structure and saidbarrier layer of said pouring-out device are uninterruptedly continuouswhen viewed in an outside-to-inside direction with respect to said wallstructure, said pouring-out device comprising:(i) a planar main bodyhaving a thin portion forming a traverse hinge in said main body; (ii) athick portion integrally formed with an end of said main body and havinga breaking edge which is disposed within said mounting aperture andcontacts said barrier film; and (iii) a pull tab member integrallyformed with said thick portion; whereby said breaking edge of said thickportion is pivoted about said hinge into contact with said barrier filmwhen said tab member is pulled, thereby breaking said barrier film suchthat the liquid is pourable therethrough.
 2. A carton to be filled witha liquid, comprising:a liquid impermeable carton container including awall structure provided with a removable portion defined by a slit, anda gas barrier film disposed on an inner surface of said wall structureincluding said removable portion; a liquid pouring-out device fixed tosaid wall structure and disposed across said removable portion so as tocover said slit, said pouring-out device having a gas barrier layer andbeing attached to said removable portion so as to be fixed to said wallstructure such that said gas barrier film of said wall structure andsaid barrier layer of said pouring-out device are uninterruptedlycontinuous when viewed in an outside-to-inside direction with respect tosaid wall structure, said pouring-out device comprising:(i) a planarmain body having a thin portion which forms a traverse hinge in saidmain body; (ii) a thick portion integrally formed with an end of saidmain body and having a breaking edge contacting an edge of saidremovable portion; and (iii) a pull tab member integrally formed withsaid thick portion; whereby a breaking edge of said thick portion ispivoted about said hinge and acts inwardly upon said removable portionwhen said tab member is pulled, thereby breaking said barrier film suchthat the liquid is pourable therethrough.
 3. The carton of claim 2,further comprising an upright wall disposed on said main body adjacentsaid thick portion.
 4. The carton of claim 2, wherein said pull tabmember extends parallel to said main body.
 5. The carton of claim 2,wherein said main body has a pair of cut lines extending from said thickportion along a length of said main body to define therebetween atearable portion, such that an opening is formed through said tearableportion when said tab member is pulled.
 6. The carton of claim 5,wherein said tab member has a width which is greater than a distancebetween said cut lines.